Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t have to watch replays of Tiger Woods’ victory Sunday at Bay Hill to understand what Woods has gone through the last 28 months.
Like Woods, Earnhardt Jr. has the focus of a whole sport on his every move.
Like Woods, Earnhardt Jr. is riding a long winless streak and knows that fans wonder if he’ll ever win again.
And like Woods, Earnhardt Jr. wonders if he’ll get back to the level that he once performed at.
“I’m a big Tiger fan and I’ve been pulling for him to succeed because I’ve related to the pressure he was under the last couple of years and all the doubts about his abilities and whether he would get back to where he wanted to be,” Earnhardt Jr. said. Wednesday.
“I felt like I knew where he was mentally.”
While quick to point out that he hasn’t enjoyed the record-setting success of Woods, Earnhardt Jr. knows what it’s like to be in a prolonged slump. He has 18 NASCAR Cup victories, but is currently riding a 134-race winless streak, with his last victory coming in June 2008 at Michigan International Speedway.
Before that win, Earnhardt Jr. had not won a Cup points race in his previous 76 events.
“For him to come back and win gives me confidence in my ability to do the same thing,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I am not in any way trying to compare myself to him, but I just see there’s similarities and things I can draw from his experience in what he is going through that I see and can relate to his deal.
“So hopefully I can win a race and know what that feels like. I’m sure it would be a huge relief. I think we’re really close.”
Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, enjoyed his best season in 2004, when he won six races and finished fifth in the final standings. He began to struggle the next season, however, and left Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team his father founded, to join Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.
He won a race and made the Chase in his first season with Hendrick, but then struggled through two miserable seasons before returning to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last year.
As the son of a legendary driver and NASCAR icon, he has grown accustomed to the glaring spotlight and seems comfortable with his rock-star status.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. feels like he's very close to breaking his winless streak. (NASCAR Photo)But he says his life doesn’t compare to many other sports celebrities, such as new New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow.
“That guy is under too much damn pressure, I’ll tell you that,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I kind of like him and I think he’s a good guy. He’s under twice the microscope I’ve ever been. It’s incredible.
“(And) he doesn’t really fan the flames on that stuff. He’s kind of doing his own thing.”
Earnhardt Jr., 37, is comfortable enough with this stage of his career that he can handle the immense pressure he is under.
Off the track, he’s willing to make appearances like he did on Wednesday, filming a YouTube video for sponsor Degree that required him to attempt drifting around a road course set up at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He rated his drifting performance as a 2 on a 10-point scale—a bit worse than fellow NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who also participated in the video.
“I knew that before I came today that it could possibly look pretty bad,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I wanted to come out here and I was open-minded, wanted to try it and wanted to see what it was about.
“I knew I knew nothing about it, but it gives us a chance to cross over and shows people that we are making an effort to learn about their sport.”
While he’s not confident in his drifting ability, he is confident in his ability to win again in a Sprint Cup car—despite the long winless streak.
He is third in the Cup standings after five races and feels as confident as he did in 2004, when he won six races.
“I feel good,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I feel the best I’ve felt personally, confidence-wise as I can remember in a long time.
“I just want the good fortune to keep going. In the big span of things, you’re not here for a very long time and I feel like I have got a lot of career left, but I know how precious it is and how difficult it is to right the ship and how difficult it is to be competitive and compete in this series.”
He understands the struggles he’s been through the past few years. That’s why he can relate to the resurgence of Tiger Woods.
“I don’t take it for granted,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I appreciate what’s happening right now and I just hope it continues and we have a solid year and we win some races and get back to victory lane.”
No comments:
Post a Comment